Machine for drying printed



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

L; A. FBRNOW. Machine for Drying Printed,Varnished or Gummed Sheets.

Patented Feb. 22, F881.

v UPANuN \QQ N N. PEI'ERS, 'FNOTOJJTHOGRAFHE NGTDN. ll C.

R. WASH! (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L. A. IPBRNOW.

Machine for Drying Printed,V arnished or Gummed Sheets. No. 237,969. Patented Feb. 22,188l.

(No Model. 3 sheets- -sheet 3.

L. A. FERNOW. Machine for Drying Printed,Varnished or Gummedfiiheets.

N0. 23' I,969.- I Pafnted Feb. 22,1881.

NITED STATES LOUIS A. FERNOW, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR DRYING PRINTED, VARNISHED, OR GUMMED SHEETS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 237,969, dated February 22, 1881.

Application filed October 8,1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS A. FERNOW, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Drying Printed, Varnished, or Gummed Sheets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a machine for drying printed, varnished, or gummed sheets, more especially designed for the use of printers, lithographers, paper-gummers, and mounters, and is an improvement upon the machine for this purpose for which Letters Patent were granted to me April 20, 1880.

In my former machine, in order to prevent the sheets from touching each other when. moving in a vertical direction, it was necessary to place the wires a considerable distance apart. This fact limited the capacity of the machine, and left a large amount of available space unoccupied between the sheets that were moving horizontally. The sheets also were returned too soon to the starting-point, if the machine were operated continuously, so that unless the machine were made of great length sheets covered-With a slow-drying varnish would not be perfectly dried, and the weightof the sheets had so great a tendency to draw the chains together that it was necessary to use a large.

and which can be easily operated, and in which the lateral strain upon the wires caused by the weight of the sheets will not act upon the endless chains. i

My invention consists in the several peculiar devices and combinations of devices employed by me to accomplish the above object, all as fully hereinafter explained, arid pointed out by the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section through the center of the machine, showing one side of the same, Fig. 2, a front elevation of the machine, with the carriageways in section; Fig. 3, an elevation of the upper part of one of the brakes for preventing the carriages from travelingdownwardly faster than the chains, such brake being shown as pushed forward by a weight; Fig. 4:, an elevation of the lower part of one brake, showing a spring for forcing it forward; Fig. 5, a cross-section through one chain and carriageway, showing a carriage in side elevation; Fig. 6, a vertical section on line 6 6 in Fig. 5, showing the carriage in end elevation Fig. 7, an elevation of a double wire with a spreading-frame attached; Fig. 8, a vertical cross section through the same, and Fig. 9 a view of the device used by me for hanging up cards or sheets that cannot be doubled.

Like letters denote corresponding parts in all the figures.

A A are two endless chains which are arranged opposite each other, being supported by wheels on the opposite walls of a room, or on frames properly arranged. Near the floor each chain runs around two sprocket-wheels,

a a, and from these wheels each chain extends upwardly toward the ceiling of the room, the upper part of the chain being supported close to the ceiling by a sprocket-wheel, a while the other part runs over a wheel, a, at a lower elevation. From these wheels c a the two parts of each chain A extend horizontally any desired distance, (depending upon the size of the room and capacity of the machine,) until they reach the end sprocket-wheels, a a The parts of the chain pass around these wheels and take a vertical direction toward. each other. The horizontal sections of the chains A may be supported and prevented from sagging by wheels placed at suitable distance apart, or by shelves 1), Fig. 5, extending under a part or the whole of these horizontal sections.

On the same spindles with the sprocketwheels to are placed cog-wheels c, which mesh with pinions c placed below them and connected by a shaft, 0 The shaft 0 is located close to the floor, so that it can be covered up, or it may run under the floor and be entirely outof the way. One of the cog-wheels c meshes with a pinion, (1, arranged above it, and this pinion d is connected with a hand-crank, 61, so as to be turned thereby; or the pinion d can be connected with the line-shafting, where there is power, through the medium of a suitable clutch, so that the machine can be stopped and started as desired.

Inside of the chains A A, at the front of the machine, are placed two shorter endless chains, B B. Each chain B passes around two short sprocket-wheels, e 0, located a short distance above and between the wheels at a, and from these wheels 0 e the chain B extends vertically to a wheel, 0 close to the upper front Wheel, c of the chain A, and to another wheel, 0 near the wheel a of the chain A. From the wheel 6 each chain B extends horizontally,

close to and just above the lower portion of the chain A, to a sprocket-wheel, e, from which wheel the chain extends to the upper wheel, 0 and completes the endless chain. The vertical portions of the chains B are parallel, or nearly so, with the corresponding parts of the chains A, and the chains B meet or approach quite close to the chains A after passing the corners and taking a horizontal direction.

On the same spindles with the upper front sprocket-wheels, c of the chains A are larger sprocket-wheels f, which are connected, by driving-chains f, with small sprocket-wheels 0 f on the same spindles with the wheels 6 of the chains B. The driving-wheels f are larger than the wheels f so that the chains B will travel with greater speed than the chains A, and this difference in speed is shown, for illustration, and hereinafter described, as being one to three, the chains B traveling fifty-four inches while the chains A are advancing eighteen inches; but it is evident that the difference in speed can be greater or less, if desired.

At the rear end of the machine there are placed, within the ends of the chains A,other fast-runnin g chains, 0 O, which extend around sprocket-wheels g g 1 arranged close to the inner sides of the chains A. The rear vertical portions of the chains 0 are parallel, or nearly so, with the same parts of the chains A, and the chains 0 are driven, preferably at the same speed as the chains B, by means of drivechains 71/, extending from large sprocket-wheels h on the spindles of the wheels (0* of the chains A to small sprocket-wheels, 7L2, on the spindles of the wheels 9 of the chains 0.

D D are endless carriage-ways, upon which the carriages that carry cross-wires travel.

\ Each of these ways is formed, preferably, of a strip of band-iron, which is screwed to wooden strips or blocks E, extending over the entire length of the ways, or made in sections placed at intervals apart. These ways are secured to the walls of the room (or the frame-work) by brackets F, which project outwardly, so that the ways are supported a short distance out from the walls, leaving room enough for the chains to pass behind them. These ways D D follow the fast-running chains B B at the front of the machine until the horizontal portions' of the slow-running chains A A arereached, when the ways follow such chains A throughout almost the entire length of their horizontal extensions. At the rear ends of the chains A, however, the ways again leave them and follow the fast-running chains 0 0 until the vertical portion of the machine is passed. Thus it will be seen that the vertical parts of the carriageways follow the fast-running chains, while in the main horizontal extension of the machine (in which the principal part of the drying is accomplished) the ways take the course of the 'slow-inoving chains.

Upon the ways D are placed a suitable number of carriages, G, (shown more particularly in Figs. 5 and 6.) These are composed of a plate, 1', on the inner-end of which are mounted two horizontal concave wheels or rollers, i, which run against the inner edge of the ways D. These rollers t" revolve on stationary vertical studs, and have the central openings through which the studs pass flared at each end, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 6, so that the rollers can rock more or less on the studs, and will not be liable to jam in running around curves.

Outside of the rollers i the carriages are provided with vertical plates 4?, by pushing upon which the carriages are moved. The plates i are bent over the inner edge of the ways, and have two vertical rollers, i one above and one below the ways, which keep the carriages in position. The opposite carriages of the two carriage-ways are connected by wires H, which are properly stretched and passed through hook or eye bolts i secured to the bent end of the plates 6 between the vertical rollers The bolts i have screw-threaded ends, and are secured by nuts, so that they can be removed to release any of the wires, when desired, or by turning the nuts the wires may be stretched taut when they become loose. The wires H carry the sheets to be dried, and the carriages G are pushed along the ways by the moving chains. This is done by pins I, which project inwardly at intervals from the chains.

On the fastmoving chains the pins are shown as three times as far apart as they are on the slow-moving chains. These distances may be (for illustration) fifty-four inches on the chains B and O and eighteen inches on the chains A but these distances may be more or less, as desired.

I design to have the pins I removably and adjustably connected with the chains by providing each link with a socket cast therewith, into which the pins can be set. This will enable me to change the distance between the pins, so that I can put them closer together or farther apart, according to the nature and size of the sheets to be dried. The wet sheets are placed upon each wire when it reaches the point 00, Fig. 1, while the dry sheets at the same time are being removed from the succeeding wire at the point y. Then, by turning the to keep them in position.

hand-crank, (or throwing in the clutch when power is used,) the loaded wire will be lifted vertically by the pins of the chains B fifty-four inches above the point 00, while the wire that waspreviously at point y will be advanced to as, ready to receive its load of wet sheets, another wire with dried sheets being moved at the same time to y for the removal ofits sheets. When the carriages of each loaded wire reach the wheels c where the ways leave the fastrunning chains B, the pins I of the chains B force the carriages along the ways into the paths of the pins of the chains A, and then pass under the lower ends of the vertical plates 4 of the carriages toward the wheels 0. The next pins on the chains A now strike the plates 1 of the carriages and push them along the horizontal portions of the ways at one-third the speed which they previously had. The carriages of one wire are brought into position by the chains Bin time to be caught up by each set of pins on the chains A, and are pushed along by the chains A eighteen inches apart until the fast-running chains C are reached, when the carriages of each wire are caught by the pins on such chains 0 and are carried around to the wheels 9. Here the fast chains pass over the carriages, and the slow chains again take them up and push them alongtill the wheels 6 of the chains B are reached. At this point the pins on the chains B catch the carriages and push them along the ways to the starting-point. The object ofthis arrangement.

of fast and slow moving chains is as follows:

In moving vertically the sheets require much more space than in moving horizontally, in order to be kept from touching each other, and where only two chains are used, as in my former patent, the wires are always the same distance apart and much available space is not utilized; and, in addition, since the wires are advanced as fast as they can be loaded and unloaded, the chains of the machine shown in my former patent travel as fast as the chains B and C of my present machine, and the sheets are returned to the starting-point much sooner than in my present machinefor the same length of machine. Hence the sheets will be more thoroughly dried by my improved machine, and a slower-drying varnish can be used.

The carriage-ways and wheel-carriages have also great advantages over my previous construction, since the lateral strain is all taken by the ways, which can be well supported at a small expense, instead of by the chains, which heretofore required expensive fixtures The chains can also be moved easier, there is less strain on the sprocket-wheels, and the machine can be operated with less power.

In the downward movement of the carriages they would drop, by reason of their weight, ahead of the pins of the fast-moving chains, if provision were not made to prevent them. For this purpose I use brake-bars K, Figs. 3 and 4, which have arms is projecting through guides k secured to the walls or frames. These brake-bars are arranged close to those portions of the ways over which the carriages pass downwardly, and they are forced forward by weights or springs 70. In the machine shown in the drawingsitisnecessary to use four of these brake-bars-two where the ways follow the chains B downwardly, and two for the vertical portions of the ways that follow the chains (3.

To keep the lower ends of the sheets apart I provide spreading-frames L, Figs. 7 and 8, which are made of wire and spread out the proper distance from the wires H on each side, so that there is no danger of the lower ends of the sheets touching each other. Washers l are also used to separate the sheets on each wire. For convenience in the use of the washers, and for strength, I prefer to make each cross-wire H of two strands, m m, as shown, connected together at the ends by short rods which pass through the hook-bolts of the carriages. The wire strands are also connected atintervals by movable links. The washers are arranged to slide freelyon the upper strand of the cross-wire, while the spreading-frames are connected rigidly with the lower strand.

The sheets are usually dried by hanging them over the cross-wires but for card-board that cannot be doubled I use ordinary spring clothes-pins M or spring-clasps of other suitable construction, in one side of which 1 secure upwardly-projecting needles or points a. These spring-pins are attached to the upper wires of the spreading-frames L on opposite sides, and the cardboard sheets are hung to them by means of the needles n. The ordinary sheets can also be hungin this manner, if desired,in which case the capacity of the machine will be donbled, since sheets can be hung on both sides of the spreading-frames, as described, and two sheets will occupy the space laterally taken up by one doubled sheet.

It will be seen that the machine occupies, except at the front, only the space close to the ceiling, which cannot be used for other purposes, the chains, wheels, and ways being on the side walls. By removing the wires at the points x and y the entire floor will be made clear. This can be done when the drying-machine is not in operation, if it is desired to use the floor-space for any purpose. When it is not desired to utilize the floor-space for any other purpose, as where a special room is set apart to accommodate the drying-machine, the whole, or nearly the whole, space may be taken up for drying purposes by extending the chains and ways several times forward and back, in which case it will be understood that the fast-running chains will be used to carry the wires around every bend and throughout all vertical portions of their movement, while the ways will follow slow-running chains in all horizontal portions.

It is evident that the chains and ways may be inclined more or less from exact vertical IIS and horizontal positions without departing from the spirit of myinvention, theterms vertical and horizontal being used comparatively to describe generally the two positions of the chains and ways.

.What I claim as my invention is 1. In a contimious-drying machine, thecoinbination of the slow and fast moving chains with the cross wires or rods, whereby the movement of the drying sheets will be alternately retarded and accelerated, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a continuous-drying machine, thecombination of the endless slow and fast moving chains with the endless ways, the carriages traveling upon such ways, and the cross wires or rods connecting the carriages, such ways following the fast and slow chains alternately, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a continuous-drying machine wherein the sheets are carried upwardly from near the floor toward the ceiling and horizontally along near the ceiling, and are returned to the starting-point, the combination of slow moving chains for moving the sheets horizontally and fast-running chains at both the front and rear ends of the machine for moving the sheets vertically, substantially as described.

4. In a continuous-drying machine, the combination of the double sets of chains A, B, and 0, arranged opposite each other and provided with driving-pins, the gearing and connectingshaft for running the opposite chains, A, the

sprocket-wheels and driving-chains connecting the chains B and G with the chains A, thecarriage-ways, carriages, and connecting wires or rods, substantially as described and shown.

In a continuous-drying machine, the combination, with the fast and slow moving chains having driving-pins, of the continuous ways D D, supported by brackets, and the connect-- ed carriages Gr, having supporting and guiding wheels, substantially as described and shown.

6. In a continuous-drying machine, the combination, with the chains, the ways, and the connected carriages, of the brake bars K for retarding the downward movement of the carriages, substantially as described and shown.

7. In acontinuous-dryingmachine, substan- U tially as described, the spreading-frames L, as set forth.

8. In a contimlous-drying machine, substantially as described, the cross-wires, formed of two strands, in combination with the washers on the upper strand and the spreading-frames secured to the lower strand, as set forth.

9. In a continuous-drying machine, the

' LOUIS A. FERNOW.

Witnesses: OLIVER W. MARBLE F. W. KASEHAGEN. 

